Wilshere, 26, appeared in just 20 fixtures (12 starts) in Premier League play for the Gunners in the 2017-18 season, scoring a goal and adding three assists. His 6.82 average match rating from WhoScored.com was 15th on the squad and trailed behind midfield options like Henrikh Mkhitaryan (7.35), Aaron Ramsey (7.27), Mesut Ozil (7.25), Granit Xhaka (7.02) and Alex Iwobi (6.88).

Early in his career, Wilshere seemed primed for stardom. He made his professional debut at 16, his first appearance for the England national team at 18 and delighted Arsenal supporters witha scintillating performanceagainst Barcelona in the 2011 Champions League, aged 19.

But injuries have hampered Wilshere in his career since, and he's never reached the form that made him, at one time, both the future of English football and one of the most promising young midfielders in all of football.

Under new manager Unai Emery, Wilshere's place in the team was in question. The team has more talented attacking midfield options in Ozil and Mkhitaryan, while Xhaka and Ramsey remain and Sampdoria defensive midfielder Lucas Torreira is reportedly being pursued, according to Italian media (h/t ESPN FC'sMattias Karen).

And Arsenal appears keen on shaking things up this summer, with goalkeeper Bernd Leno's signingconfirmedon Tuesday by the club, Stephan Lichtsteineralready confirmedand Sokratis Papasthopoulosreportedlyheading to the club, per theEvening Standard's James Olley, all in an effort to shore up the defense. If Arsenal want to make additional additions, at some point they'll need to make subtractions as well to help balance the books.

With that in mind—and Arsenal's other potential options in the midfield—it appears Emery didn't envision a role for Wilshere going forward. It's a dim finish to what started as a bright and hopeful tenure in North London.